Govt planning amendments to Road Transport Act to combat illegal racing

The government plans to table amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987 at the Dewan Rakyat sitting in October, as part of efforts to combat illegal racing and mat rempit (illegal motorcycle racers) activities in the country.

Deputy Home Minister II Jonathan Yasin said the proposed amendments include action against the spectators of illegal racing and penalties for workshops that modify motorcycles to be used for illegal racing.

"There was a discussion on Aug 8 and some proposals were submitted by the home ministry to the transport ministry on enacting the proposed amendments so that the law is stricter in terms of the penalties.

"The existing fines or prison sentences need to be increased. However, this is still under discussion and is likely to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat," he said during a question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara today.

The supplementary question came from N Balasubramaniam on amendments to the law to combat illegal racing as well as the number of operations conducted so far.

Jonathan said based on the "Operasi Samseng Jalanan" conducted by the Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department, a total of 1,451 offenders were arrested from January until June this year.

Meanwhile, 1,258 summonses were issued and 2,200 vehicles seized for investigation.

On Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's proposal for a special circuit for drag racing to be built in each state, Jonathan said the proposal was good in the effort to boost motorsports.

However, he said feedback from state governments showed that the idea received little enthusiasm from the youth, including in Penang and Selangor which already have special circuits.